Omniac Attack: Expert Tutor Tips!

Hey Albuquerque students!

College admissions is getting harder and harder with each passing year.  Some of you parents may remember this being a relatively easy thing:  just take a test and then fill out an application to one or two schools and that was it.  With more students applying to college than ever before, the process has gotten much more competive, and students and parents often find themselves a little overwhelmed by the enormity and complexity of the task.  To help parents wade through this labyrinthine process though, here are three things you can do to get a clear picture of admissions (and for free too).

Our expert team of tutors and college consultants host several College Nights and Financial Aid Nights at various Albuquerque and Santa Fe high schools each semester.  Our College Nights are where we give parents some of the more basic information about colleges:  how different schools look at applications, what roles the ACT and SAT play, etc.  We also spend a significant amount of time answering questions from the audience.  This can be as general or specific as you need and we'll either answer it right then and there, or find the answer later and get back to you.  Financial Aid Nights, however, are obviously much more specific about the information we give out, but we'll also spend as much time answering questions as we need.  Unfortunately though, while we'd love to host an event at every Albuquerque and Santa Fe school, not every one invites us to do so.  So talk to your school to find out if we have any events coming up!

Believe it or not, standardized tests are among the simplest parts of the admissions process.   They don't take very long and there are concrete steps to improving on them.  And the very first step is to take the test.  Not only will giving yourself more experience with the test make you more confortable taking it, taking a practice test will let you know where you're at right now.  Having that previous score is very important, and one of two things will happen because of it.  Either you'll get a score that you're happy with, and you can go into the real test with more confidence and have an easier time of it.  Or you won't get a score that you're happy with, but you will know exactly where your problems are and will have time to fix those before the real thing.

Our College Nights will give out lots of useful, but general, information about college; and taking a practice test will be invaluable to beginning the process of raising your test scores.  But it's our Introductory Consults where you and your family will sit down for an hour (for free) with one of our College Consultants to discuss YOUR specific situation.  In the consult, we'll go over how colleges look at applications and the admissions process, what the ACT and SAT mean to schools and will then provide an action plan for you to start the process.  Our highly-qualified tutors look at any scores and transcripts that you have and will find out as much as we can about your situation so that we can give you a clear idea of what your strengths and weaknesses are, so you can put your best foot forward on your applications.

Obviously, these things are just the beginning of the process and all of the real work of admissions still needs to be done.  But a combination of College Nights, practice tests, and Introductory Consults will give you a good map of the admissions process so that you can avoid some of the confusion that besets so many parents.

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